Issues → November/December 2007 → Home & Garden →
Holiday Decorating Ideas from Matthew Mead
Tabletops, mantels, staircases, and gifts are done in style
by Polly Bannister
New England's decorating genius, Matthew Mead, creates a sparkling new look for the holidays.
Love of nature and a passion for colorful china and glassware are the essential ingredients in Matthew's elegant style.
Follow his tips and you'll make this season one that friends and family will never forget.
Ring It In!
Out with the old and in with the new: Matthew gives the year a clean start with a monochromatic color scheme. For example, this basic-white painted staircase receives a sparkling make-over with a garland of silk leaves, flowing beads, and glass teardrops that glimmer in the candlelight.
Holiday Wreath
1. Wrap a Styrofoam wreath form with silver fabric ribbon.
2. Using a hot-glue gun, attach clear glass florist's beads in rows, starting from the inside of the circle.
3. Tie on ribbon for hanging.
4. Embellish with objects that add sparkle: small ornaments, a rhine-stone brooch, little jingle bells, bird figures, or whatever strikes your fancy.
Bright White Nights
Shades of silver, gray, and white echo winter and ice, while black reminds us that this is the time of year when nights are longest. Snowflakes made of paper, beads, and resin dangle in the air. Although this cozy living room has no fireplace, the shelf serves as a floating mantel and focal point. Warmth (as if from a glowing fire) comes from shiny silver and white ornaments lit by a pillar candle inside a leaded glass tower. On the table, a bottle-brush tree (the type sold with Christmas village sets) sits in a sterling-silver pedestal cup. Votive candles cast a shimmering reflection. A glass dove filled with white nonpareils sits front and center as a talisman of peace for the coming year.
Better Than Bling
In another bowl centerpiece, Matthew attains easy elegance with what he calls "drop and layer" style. Using no florals, fruits, or water, he simply nestles white and silver ornaments in a compote among glistening silver cake dragées and glass stones. He tops it off with an antique bell ornament and rhinestone brooches -- inexpensive flea market finds. (For a dash of color, you might add a few pieces of blue sea glass.) The finishing touch is to "serve" the arrangement on a sterling-silver tray.
Tradition with a Twist
Say good-bye to the stiff floral arrangements of olden days. This Thanksgiving, Matthew runs his centerpiece the length of the table. To lift the eye from the tabletop, he uses a long tin box, overturned. (A wooden trough or plank could also work.) On this base he places butternut gourds intertwined with bittersweet. Additional height comes from tall beeswax tapers. Matthew complemented his fall palette with roses, wooden candlesticks, and a compote of nuts. For a bit of whimsy, a persimmon sits atop a low candlestick, and names are handwritten on small gourds, serving as place cards.
Thanksgiving Mantel
Find bottle gourds at Michael's, The Arts & Crafts Store, or a local farm stand. (This is the type of gourd that is frequently made into a birdhouse.) Here, Matthew sets two gourds upright and one on its side, decorating around them with deep orange persimmons, votive candles, mini-gourds, fall foliage, and antique bottles. (You might also try 'Jack Be Little' pumpkins in place of the persimmons.) The mantel is bursting with the colors and fruits of the season.
A Simple Setting
Before setting the table, Matthew says the most important thing to do is choose a palette. Here, shades of autumn are reflected in amber glass, golden bamboo, Bakelite-handle silverware, and brown transferware with yellow and green pattern accents. (Spode makes a reproduction of this vintage china, carried by stores such as T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods.) A single leaf is silhouetted on a white antique linen napkin.
Gingerbread Harvest Basket
When Matthew and Jenny Mead entertain, they like their guests to have a sense of awe when they walk into a room. Awesome is this woven gingerbread harvest basket dressing up an antique sideboard and filled with autumn's bounty. This project is edible, or you may save it from year to year.
Try our easy-to-follow instructions
OR send a self-addressed, stamped (41-cent) envelope to:
Gingerbread Basket, Yankee Magazine, 1121 Main St., Dublin, NH 03444
Plus: GINGERBREAD CLASSES for Children and Adults,
Chandler's Cake and Candy Supplies, 7 Perley St., Concord, NH
603-223-0393
ChandlersCakeandCandy.com
Create a Classic
The Concord, New Hampshire, bungalow that Matthew and his wife, Jenny, call home is decked out for Christmas. The palette is traditional red and green with white accents. Linen napkins, iridescent cranberry glass, and bright apples grace the dining table. As to flowers, he recommends massing one type -- it's foolproof and often achieves a more dramatic look than a bouquet of mixed blooms. Here, vibernum berries and deep-red roses grace the table. Hollowed-out apples make innovative containers for votive candles. Matthew says that when entertaining, you can't lose with "candlepower." The flickering flames are romantic, elevating the occasion so guests feel special.
Yards of white pine or cedar roping and other greens like pittisporum and boxwood provide contrast and lushness, giving the garland-draped dining-room window a multidimensional quality. Matthew believes Christmas is a time to evoke memory and engage all the senses with music, the aroma of delectable food, and a rich, colorful environment.
Tiny Trees
Nothing is more festive than a Christmas tree. Matthew buys small live trees, wraps colorful textured fabric around their bases, and decorates with different color themes (depending on where he's placing the tree). He prefers no lights, while Jenny likes the multicolored ones, so they always have several "his and her" mini-trees scattered throughout the house. This one in the dining room carries their palette forward, thanks to red glass ornaments and birds with glitter-laden wings.
Holiday Countdown
The Meads like to stretch the season by opening one gift apiece each day during the Twelve Days of Christmas. These merry packages are wrapped with such care that the family likes to display them at eye level, rather than lose them in a pile under the tree. They use kraft and scrapbook paper, colorful tissue, rubber stamps, and as a time-saver, double-sided tape. They always make their gift tags by hand, too. Boxwood, roses, and vibernum are incorporated into ribbons and bows for a festive touch. Matthew makes each gift its own work of art by "never skimping on the embellishments." During the rest of the year, the dining room's open shelves hold antique dishes, so Matthew can set the table in an instant and show off his extensive collection.
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